Bludger to the Head
by HoodedSpellcaster
Summary: Collection of one-shots and drabbles featuring Cassius Warrington and Roger Davies./ 4. Cassius doesn't believe in miracles. But he believes in Roger.
1. Chapter 1 Christmas Affairs

Christmas Affairs

A/N and warnings: This is for the Bingo Board Challenge: D3: It's just sex. Post-Hogwarts/Post-War. Slash but no lemon. Just a short not-so-Christmas-y Christmas ficlet I wrote at night. Enjoy.

Summary: Cassius Warrington has met Roger Davies every Christmas since the incident at the party but it never means anything but self-loathing, trouble, and a promise to repeat the same thing next year.

* * *

Christmas carols play on the background. A thin layer of snow has covered the ground. Lights twinkle in the windows. It's Christmas time but Cassius can't help to fight against the disgusting, empty feeling in his chest. He dislikes Christmas but it hasn't always been so, just these past years. It's almost eleven. Perhaps he could just go home this time.

He rubs his temples, feeling the headache waking up from its sleep. It's pounding his skull dully but Cassius ignores the feeling. It's not like it was worse than getting a Bludger to his head. He pushes the empty glass away. Alcohol never does any good, he knows it very well, yet there he is, sitting in a small pub in the middle of London and drinking. He receives his umpteenth shot of strong Firewhisky. It doesn't really go to his head; he knows it doesn't. He can still think straight. Too bad there is nothing he wants to think about in particular but leaving the place.

"I knew I would find you here, Cassius."

Cassius flinches when he hears his name being spoken. He looks up and scoffs. "Davies."

The brunette in a suit lets out a small laugh but Cassius' glare doesn't go unnoticed by him. Cassius hates looking up at Roger put he's used to it; after all, the former Ravenclaw had outgrown him during the years between their last year at Hogwarts and their reunion couple years later.

"What? We're not in the first name basis anymore?" Roger asks casually and sat down on an empty barstool. "Cas?"

Cassius doesn't bother to answer and so Roger just shrugs.

They had been colleagues for a while they both had worked at the Ministry of Magic, high up at the _Department of International Magical Cooperation_. They hadn't actually been anything that could have been called friends. More like acquaintances, if even that, Cassius broods bitterly and silently watches Roger ordering a drink. From what Cassius knew Roger still worked for the Ministry. How many years it had been since he had resigned after the _incident _at the Christmas party? Five? Six even? Cassius can't remember and he is sure neither can Roger.

Roger takes a particularly long gulp of his pint. "It has been long time," he says and interrupts Cassius' train of thought. "Whole year already. How've you been?"

"I've been better," Cassius snarls and gets up, not intending to share anything that had something to do with his personal life with Roger. He shouldn't be getting involved with Roger in the first place. He teeters a little, the alcohol affecting his balance. Roger swiftly grips his wrist and keeps him from falling which angers him even more.

"You shouldn't be leaving just yet," Roger states with a charming smile. Cassius grits his teeth and looks away. "Just couple drinks," Roger continues, purring. He has warm, big hands; he strokes Cassius' wrist with his thumb. "For the old times' sake. I have a room reserved for this night."

* * *

Cassius uncurls himself from the mess of tangled limbs and reaches for his shirt and socks on the hotel room floor. His muscles ache slightly and there's a voice in head, nagging at him. He does his best to ignore it, he really does. His mouth tastes distantly like Ogden's Old Firewhisky and cherry tobaccos Roger loves.

Roger Davies had been a hopeless flirt and a ladies' man extraordinaire when younger. Now at the age of 32 people would say he had changed for the better, being married and having a secure relationship. Rare are the people who know the former Quidditch Captain isn't entirely loyal to his pretty little trophy wife, let alone that he isn't completely straight either. Cassius Warrington knows he's probably the only one who knows the latter with the first hand experience.

In a way Cassius doesn't pity himself; he pities Roger's wife. Cassius ignores the ring on the side table. He ignores knowing about Roger's three years old daughter. And he tries so hard to ignore the man sleeping peacefully on the bed. Cassius pulls his shirt over his head and gets up from the bed to pull on his jeans. Roger doesn't wake up when the mattress moves; he is still fast asleep, snoring softly.

The clock ticks on the wall. Half past five, it's still dark outside. From the open curtains Cassius can see the snow falling down. He walks to the door and opens it, not making a noise. He doesn't allow himself to breath before he's safely on the other side of the door. His blunt fingernails dug on his palms as he curses.

The night was a mistake. It was just sex. It was pointless.

But Cassius is partially responsible for Roger cheating on his wife. And yet he knows they will do it again.

Like every Christmas.


	2. Chapter 2 For A Moment

For A Moment

A/N and warnings: Just another ficlet of Roger/Cassius. Angst, Friendship, Pre-Slash. Hogwarts, Cassius and Roger are in their seventh year (Harry Potter's sixth year) in this fic though they should've graduated two years earlier, hence AU.

Summary: Warrington Senior is dead and Cassius mourns alone in the Third Floor. Roger consoles him and for a moment everything is okay.

* * *

The envelope lay on the corridor floor.

It had been torn open hastily only a moment ago and been thrown away. The scent of lavender wafted from the letter. Cassius knew the perfume all too well. It brought to his mind his home, the Warrington Manor, near the city of Shrewsbury. His mother had taken liking to the fragrant flowers and so the old, prestige building held the scent of lavender.

But the letter joined its envelope on the floor, scrunched into a ball as soon as it was read. The two lines, written in Cassius' mother's small handwriting were smudged by teardrops, had been bad news.

Warrington Senior was dead.

Cassius crossed his arms and clutched his sleeves. His blunt nails dug through the layers of clothing and pressed into his upper arms. He wished the physical pain would relieve the agony that twisted his insides into knots and forced him to slump down. Cassius let out a strangled sob, not wanting to show any kind of weakness.

The cold stone wall didn't bring any sort of comfort when he leaned into it. The Warrington family, although all Slytherins and proud of it, weren't and had never been followers of the Dark Lord even though they had their own questionable past surrounded by the Dark Arts and certain disdain towards the beings.

Cassius bites the inside of his cheek. It wasn't his fault his father was dead. It wasn't his fault the Dark Lord had tried recruiting Warrington Senior to gain more connections to the Ministry. It wasn't his fault his father had acted like some sort of hero and faced the consequences of disagreeing with the most dangerous dark wizard of their time and not joining him.

The third floor corridor was soundless apart from Cassius' ragged breathing.

Pitiful, he thought of himself, gritting his teeth and trying, trying so hard, to keep his tears concealed behind his closed eye lids and not succeeding. He was truly pitiful. And so he let himself break down.

Cassius listened to the echoing footsteps further away in the third floor silently wishing them to go away. No such luck, he cursed when the footsteps stopped few feet away from him.

"I heard you," the voice said. "I'm sorry. If you want to–"

He sniffed and looked up at the apologizing Ravenclaw and didn't even bother hiding the fact he was crying. Roger Davies' lips had formed a thin line. His voice didn't hold his Quidditch captain's authority nor his flirtatious tone. It was soft and sad. Pitying, Cassius noted but didn't bother to comment it. Times were hard. Just in the morning there had been a mentioning in the Daily Prophet about the Bruce family being killed and several students stayed at their homes with their families or left the country for good.

"I don't want to talk about it," Cassius snarled as menacingly as he could in his current state, answering Roger's unfinished question. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and muttered '_Incendio_' under his breath and watched the letter disappear into thin air as the flames died out.

"Okay, okay," the Ravenclaw said. "I'll just go then…"

Cassius snorted that. True, it was none of Roger's business but damn, it wouldn't be anyone else's business either so he automatically grabbed the gossipy Quidditch captain's pant leg when the Ravenclaw attempted leaving. He didn't need Roger Davies to go telling about him sobbing. That's what he told himself at least when he opened his mouth and muttered:

"You _can_ stay."

Apparently taken aback by the plea – which Cassius would never admit it was – it took few seconds from Roger to sit down next to the Slytherin chaser and wrap his arm around the taller boy's shoulders. Cassius stiffened because of the sudden closeness with Roger but let it flow and slowly leaned on the Ravenclaw and let the tears come again.

"It's going to be okay", Roger whispered quietly and hugged Cassius who sobbed on Roger's shoulder. He rubbed his hand soothingly between Cassius' shoulder blades. "It's going to be okay."

Cassius didn't say anything to that even though he knew it wasn't going to be okay. Not in a while, at least. Nothing was going to bring his father back. But he could give himself a right for this little moment of comfort he needed more than he dared to admit. He could let himself relax and feel safe inside those arms for a moment.

And during that moment everything would be okay.


	3. Chapter 3 Bludger to the Head

Bludger to the Head

A/N and warnings: This is for _'I Ship It' Competition_ on HPFC. Hogwarts Era, Pre-Slash, Friendship. Some cursing, mentions of Quidditch injuries. Past Roger Davies/Cho Chang and Cassius Warrington/Graham Montague.

Summary: Roger gets hit with a Bludger during a Quidditch game and Cassius visits him at the Hospital Wing.

* * *

The games against Slytherin get bloody. Broken broomsticks, bloody noses, dislocated shoulders, darkening bruises, you get the picture. The pitch is a battle ground and only the strong survive. It's a miracle if you made it out the pitch without taking damage. That's a rule, not an exception.

"Madam Pomfrey."

The matron nods at the Slytherin. "Good evening, Warrington."

That rule, of course, doesn't apply to Slytherins themselves.

Cassius smiles at the elderly witch but on the inside he is far from pleased.

One would be confused why perfectly healthy man is at the Hospital Wing while the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch Team are down at the dungeons celebrating the victory against Ravenclaw but there he is. Cassius stops in front of a hospital bed and crosses his arms. He lets his smile fall and his brow furrows. He taps his foot and sighs.

"You just had to prompt Flint, did you?" Cassius' voice is full of annoyance. "For a Ravenclaw you can be exceptionally dense sometimes."

Roger, who had till this moment ignored Cassius' presence, looks up at the tall Slytherin and purses his lips like a child who's being scolded.

"He made a lewd comment about Cho," he mutters and Cassius rolls his eyes.

"Ah, yes, of course he did," Cassius says with a hint of bitterness in his tone. "About your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," Roger snaps and glares at Cassius who blinks at the blunt force of the statement. Roger flushes bright pink. "Ex-girlfriend. She's my ex. We broke up."

"Ex-girlfriend, then," Cassius corrects nonchalantly. "Sorry for your loss. But an ex or not you should by now know that Flint doesn't mean half the things he says–" Roger opens his mouth to disagree, "–and though he can be a total arse sometimes you shouldn't–"

"Sometimes!?" Rogers exclaims in utter disbelief. "That's the understatement of the year! Have you seen my face?! He hit me with a_ bludger_! Take a look, will you?!"

Roger turns his face so Cassius can see the fist sized bruise tarnishing Roger's skin. It has spread over his cheekbone and reached his eyebrow. The eye is partly closed because of the swelling. Cassius doesn't flinch at the sight. On the desk next to bed is a small vial – Madam Pomfrey had already worked her magic.

"Thank Merlin the Valentine's Day was last week," Roger sighs. "With this face I'm pretty sure girls would have run away."

Cassius smiles at Roger's antics. He wants to say that Roger doesn't look that bad; that it's just a bruise, probably painful and all but invisible, but a bruise nevertheless. That it will fade and Roger will look as good-looking as ever. But Cassius doesn't say anything like that.

"Well, there aren't _that_ many girls for you to date," Cassius says instead. "Perhaps you and Cho should get back together?"

Roger looks taken aback by Cassius' words. "Umm, no," he says rather bluntly.

"No?" Cassius repeats.

"No, because I think… I mean, I know that I… I've known for a while actually," Roger murmurs. He groans and rubs the back of his neck. "I already got my eyes set on someone else!" He says quickly and bits his tongue.

"That was fast," Cassius says and smiles. "So… who's the lucky bird?"

Roger's mouth gapes open for a moment as he can't find the right words and so looks away. "No one, really," he mumbles. "I doubt there could ever be anything. Just forget I mentioned it."

"Did you get a concussion? The Hogwarts Casanova being afraid of his crush not being reciprocated," Cassius teases lightly. "Just tell me. I've told you about my crushes. I even told you about Lockhart." He pokes Roger's arm. "Tell me or I'll have to torture the name out from you."

"I'd rather take the name with me to the grave," Roger threatens and crosses his arms.

"Oh really?" Cassius raises a brow.

"Yeah, really." Roger nods firmly.

"Oh_ really_?" Cassius ask again and wiggles his fingers.

Roger's eyes widen. "Don't you dare!"

"Too late for that!" Cassius jumps on the hospital bed, strangling Roger with his legs and starts tickling the brunet. Roger instead begins his futile attempt to keep Cassius from mercilessly assaulting his sides.

"Stop it!" Roger laughs hysterically as Cassius continues to tickle him. "Sto-stop! Please, Cas! Fuck, I'm gonna kill you for this!"

Cassius finally stops and backs away from the panting Ravenclaw. He holds back his laughter. "You should see your face," he says and grins at the red-faced Ravenclaw.

Roger takes deep breathes. "Remind me why we're friends again?" he snarls, wiping his watery eyes but grinning nevertheless.

Cassius taps his chin. "Because you suck at Charms and Flitwick made me your tutor last year?"

"That's not a good reason," Roger teases and playfully hits Cassius on the shoulder. "Go get some real friends."

"One lady-part obsessed Ravenclaw is enough for me," Cassius snickers and pulls Roger into an overly friendly side hug. Roger blushes.

"Don't make fun of me, you wannabe Hufflepuff. Tickling torture, seriously… Are you sure you're a Slytherin?" Roger teases and leans into Cassius. "That was just lame."

Cassius shrugs. "Just playing by your weaknesses," he says and looks at the clock on the wall. "I have to go." Cassius grimaces. He unwraps his arm around Roger's shoulders and gets up from the bed. "Montague will start wondering where I am. He doesn't like handling the rest of the gang alone."

"Yeah, sure, Montague," Roger mutters. "Your ex. Have fun with the drunken snakes."

Cassius smiles faintly. "I will. Bye, Roger."

"Wait, Cas!" Roger starts and Cassius expectantly turn to him. Roger swallows. "Thanks. For being there for me. You're a good friend."

"Aww," Cassius coos with a smile spreading on his face. "You're getting soft on me."

"You better feel fucking privileged then," Roger sneers. Cassius laughs at that.

"You bet I am," he admits softly. "Oh, and one last thing." Cassius quickly leans in and presses a small kiss on Roger's bruise. "A charm," Cassius explains and grins. "Get better soon, Roger."

After Cassius has left the Hospital Wing and the room has fallen into silence Roger runs his fingertips on the bruise and smiles. Perhaps he had a chance on Cassius after all.


	4. Chapter 4 Small Miracles

Small Miracles

A/N and warnings: This is for the second Daily Prophet Competition at QLFC and the task was to find a round from one of the previous seasons and write a piece for a position that I currently don't write for. The piece should be no longer than 500 words. I decided to use first season's round 3 which was about rare pairings (defined as pairings that have less than 2,000 stories in the archive under the "Romance" genre, including M fics). Prompts are in the end. Big thanks to Raybe for betaing!

So I picked one of my favourite rare pairings: Cassius Warrington/Roger Davies.

Summary: Cassius doesn't believe in miracles. But he believes in Roger. Fluff, slash, Hogwarts Era.

* * *

_"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know your name is safe in their mouth." – Jess C. Scott_

* * *

_Cassius doesn't believe in miracles._

"Roger."

Cassius can feel Roger's arms around his waist. He can barely move but that doesn't mean he doesn't find the position comfortable. The Ravenclaw snores softly. His breath tickles Cassius' shoulder and Cassius feels almost bad for having to wake Roger up.

"Roger. It's almost morning."

"Just five more minutes…"

Cassius chuckles at his partner's croaky voice.

"Not today," he says and nudges Roger's jaw with his shoulder.

"Why the hell do you live under the lake?" Roger groans but doesn't move an inch. "It's too far away from my tower…"

Cassius raises an eyebrow and chuckles. "Your tower?"

"I'm tired," Roger mumbles defensively but his voice doesn't hold its usual edge. "You can't seriously expect me to be all smart and articulate this early in the morning…"

"Why would I expect something like that, good Sir?" Cassius teases. "You see, I don't believe in miracles."

"I find it a miracle that we're together, Cassius," Roger says softly and yawns.

A warm feeling spreads in Cassius' chest at those simple words. He loves the way Roger says his name. It makes him feel light, carefree even. And more important than any girl Roger had bedded before him. He knows Roger loves him.

Roger presses his face into the crook of his neck and Cassius lets out a content sigh as the Ravenclaw nuzzles his hair. If only mornings like that could continue forever. Roger slides his fingers over Cassius' ribs. His grin only widens when Cassius shudders.

"Can't we just cuddle for a little longer?" Roger asks playfully, finally fully awake. "Or maybe we could do something else?"

"Only if you want to get kicked out by a very angry Montague," Cassius says even though the suggestion tempts him and his neither regions. "Just get up, Roger. Your clothes are all over the room."

Roger untangles himself from Cassius and reluctantly gets up from the warm and comfy bed to collect his clothes. He pulls his shirt over his head and reaches for his trousers when he notices Cassius looking at him.

Roger grins. "Like what you see?"

"I've learned to appreciate your nice behind," Cassius states and licks his lips. He lets his smile fall a little when Roger zips up his trousers. "Aww."

"You can see my behind again tonight," Roger whispers with a teasing smirk on his lips. He goes to peck a small kiss on Cassius' cheek before leaving for the door.

"You forgot your shoes, Cinderella," Cassius says and Roger quickly turns around. Cassius points at a pair of black shoes.

"Pretend that didn't happen, Prince Charming," Roger says. He takes his shoes and without putting them on walks to the door.

"See you later?" Cassius asks.

"Of course, Cassius," Roger replies with a toothy grin. "Of course."

_But he believes in Roger._

* * *

Season 1, Round 3 – Rarepairs

BEATER 1: Choose a pairing with at least one Ravenclaw.

Optional Prompts:

6\. Dialogue: "Pretend that didn't happen."

8\. "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know your name is safe in their mouth." - Jess C. Scott

Word Count: 499 (using Microsoft Word and not counting the author's notes)


End file.
